I recently visited Dominique Ansel for the third time, following my visit last November for the pumpkin pie (A November Visit to Dominique Ansel Bakery) and after a very disappointing second visit where the staff overcharged me (they displayed the wrong prices on their pastry and I noticed and ended up walking out as they wouldn't sell it for the price advertised). After this feedback and failure of customer service, I was invited to go back for a third visit for them to rectify the problem. Continue reading to learn a short history of Dominique Ansel Bakery and to see some pastries and reviews.
Dominique Ansel Bakery started in New York City and opened in London near Victoria Station in September 2016. Dominique Ansel is a French-born pastry chef who opened the restaurant first in 2011 in New York City, and the restaurant became successful and created popular items, such as the cronut (a cross between a doughnut and croissant), the cookie shot (a cookie-shaped shot glass with warm milk inside), frozen S'mores, blossoming hot chocolate, and other unique pastries.
Like many other restaurants, shops, and cafes, Dominique Ansel decorate their storefront for the season. I photographed some of the Christmas treats below. I had the chocolate pine cone, which was created with dark chocolate mouse and dark chocolate flakes, hand-crafted to create the pinecone.
When I visited, the inside of the shop was still decorated for autumn as this is the period between fall and Christmas.
I had the Zahra Rose pastry, which is a light sponge on a rice biscuit base. The thin layer of sponge is covered with a rose mousse and raspberry sauce inside.
Pictured above is the shake-up Eton Mess, which comes in a plastic container so that you can shake it together. I expected that this would be fruity, but it wasn't, and I didn't like the cream at all, which reminded me of a yoghurt and was slightly sour. The strawberries were strawberry mousse with white chocolate shell in the shape of a strawberry. I'm not a fan of white chocolate nor yoghurt, so I could not eat this one.
The service was much better on this visit, but the food is a bit hit-or-miss for me when I've tried it. I would give them another chance.
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